A couple of years ago I read The Happiness Project on reccomendation from my daughter Devon. One of my favorite mantras came from it: "Don't let perfect get in the way of done". In a way Nike got first dibs on this frame of thought when they said "Just Do It! ". But either way the command to do something is there.

I"m going to start this blog off with an early confession. Its hard to expose my vulnerability, but I confess that the compulsion to paint is very personal. I can't put it completely or concisely into words why I do it , I just know that painting is necesary right now; for the last 2 1/2 years it has been a force that needed to be answered from within.

When first I started moving paint around on paper and adding ink for emphasis an emotional void was filled. I know it sounds corny and rather presumptuous but the truth is I was going through a crisis and producing paintings gave me a purpose and satisfaction in spite of not being perfect I was "getting it done".

I have a lot of paintings waiting to be painted.

This week was an early attempt at putting people into my paintings. It is sketched from a black and white photo of my mother at age 19 in 1956 -ish, standing on the shore of Lake Huron (I think) wearing a cornflower blue duster and matching dress. I asked mom about the coat and she remembered all the details. So I googled it and found a coloured picture of it.

I"m especially pleased with the movement that I achieved in the coat and dress. I'm especially disappointed with the muddied and yellow tones on the face. I love the Medussa-esque hair! This was my first time using Quinacrodone Red, and also I have stared upgrading to Windsor Newton paints. I regard this as a baby step in a marathon to painting people.

Tomorrow I will probably paint a sea stack. It will be like eating chocolate or comfort food after a tough shift in emerg.

See you next Tuesday!

https://gretchenrubin.com/book/the-happiness-project/